"El Flashiador"

I finally got my cell phone to work yesterday! When I first got here a month ago, I almost right away wanted a cell phone. For what, I don't know. I didn't even have a single friend to chat with. I just have that feeling of vulnerability, like being totally naked or helpless when I didn't have a cell phone. So since day one, Dear Husband had been trying to get me one.

At last yesterday I finally did. Woohoo! (yeah, like I have a lot of callers!) I brought with me a few cell phone units when I first moved here over a month ago. These were the ones I have saved over the years of subscribing from T-mobile. They give you a free phone when you renew your contract. The newest one i got thought was given to me as a mothers day gift from my Dear Husband. The Wing! Its an amazing phone with camera and internet browser just like The I-phone! The little thing is like a little computer that fits in the palm of your hand and is very sturdy. It cost him over US$400 new at that time. Now its not worth shit (excuse my language) because nobody could unlock it... what they call here "Flashiar". It would sure cost me over GTQ200 to "flash" it if someone could. Oh well, I couldn't use it here anyway. They say that phone wouldn't last me a day on the street due to thieves and robbers. I'd rather send it back to Chicago and have it sold there, get a little cash back... or just have it stashed in my drawer and collect dust. That's another story... the amount of dust my closet collects!

So anyway, I decided to just use my old hot pink "Razr" phone. We went so several "Flashiadores" but nobody could! They say they don't have the code for it. We asked around and some of them wanted us to leave the phone behind and they'll try to do it on their own time. That was scary after hearing some stories where the "flashiador" would call ahead some thief and they"ll wait in a corner and ask for the phone at gunpoint. This happened to one of DH's niece.



We finally found one highly recommended by DH's brother. His shop was in a little dark room right off the sidewalk of a busy street (parked illegally, I had to stay in the car with the boys). Iron bars from floor to ceiling guarded this little nook, and the guy had a gun within reach. We got there at 10 in the morning and was told to leave the phone and be back at 1 pm. So we did our little grocery shopping, drove by the "mercado", fed the pigeons by the old cathedral and took the kids to McDonalds. One o'clock sharp we were in front of his shop but was told that the guy is still "toda via flashiando". With my little Spanish I know that means "still unlocking". We had to come back at 3pm. This made me nervous already. The little hot pink razr phone was another gift from DH 3 mothers day ago and I'd hate to lose it. But come 3 pm, we got back to the shop and the guy handed it back to my husband all polished, unlocked and working with the new sim card!

I know it was a scary and nerve racking but hey, for 100 Quetzales (US$12) which is about 1/3 of what I would have paid in the US, a little sweat in the brow and illegal parking with blinkers, I'm happy. So if you guys ever have a collection of cell phones, make sure you have it unlocked before leaving town, or suffer the consequences of meeting the "El Flashiador".